What UAE Families Must Understand About Ivy League Admissions

2026-02-15 02:31:22

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

'The US and the UK have completely different systems; it's important to realise what your goal is, so you can prepare accordingly', said the founder and CEO of Eye on Ivy

PUBLISHED: Sun 15 Feb 2026, 4:46 PM

By:
Nandini Sircar

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For many UAE families, the words 'Ivy League' still carry a near-mythical weight. But in today's admissions landscape, ambition without strategy can quickly falter.

At an open house organised at Dubai Mall, Shanza N. Khan, founder and CEO of Eye on Ivy, offered parents and students a reality check - one that begins with understanding just how competitive the system has become.

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“The landscape has changed phenomenally from the time the parents in this room went to university,” she said.“Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, the Ivy Leagues - have less than 5 per cent acceptance rates.”

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For international students applying from the UAE, those figures shrink even further.“These rates will not apply to you unless you hold US citizenship or residency. Typically, it's 80 per cent of US citizens and residents who make up a class... the remaining 20 per cent are international students. So, if you look at Harvard, the 3.6 per cent doesn't really apply to international students. You're kind of looking at 1.2 per cent or so," she explained.

In other words, the odds are far steeper than many families realise.

Admission systems in US and UK

Khan highlighted a common misconception among UAE students: assuming that the US and UK admissions systems operate similarly.

“The US and the UK have completely two different systems, and it's important to realise what your goal is, so that you prepare accordingly,” she said.“In the United States, academics are reviewed holistically... The rest of the world very much follows the UK model.”

In the US, universities assess students within the context of their school - something especially relevant in cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where students follow IB, British, American, Indian and other curricula.

“You are being looked at relative to your class,” Khan said.“The university is going to judge you according to the school you are in... Are you taking the most rigorous course load that is available to you? How are your peers doing?”

She also cautioned families against blindly chasing competitive“feeder schools”.

“It's perfectly okay to be in a school that is normal and shine and be the shark in the swimming pool versus the fish in the ocean,” she said, underscoring how relative ranking can influence outcomes.

By contrast, the UK system is subject-driven and far more grade-centric.

“You are applying to a subject, not a university,” she stressed.“UK is 80 per cent weightage grades, 20 per cent your application... There is no such thing as relative evaluation. You have to perform according to the subject criteria of the university.”

For applicants to elite institutions such as University of Oxford or University of Cambridge, conditional offers hinge almost entirely on predicted and final external exam results.

“Your predicted grades must be realistic and defensible,” Khan warned.“You don't want to fall in the trap of getting those offers and then losing them.”

She pointed to cases where even offers from Harvard were rescinded when final results did not match predictions.

Testing is back - and it matters

While many US universities went test-optional in recent years, that trend is reversing.

“There is a shift in the winds,” Khan said.“Nearly all the Ivy Leagues require the SAT... The only Ivy League that will remain SAT-optional is Columbia. But please... SAT optional does not mean SAT irrelevant, especially for international students.”

She noted that universities are increasingly wary of grade inflation across schools globally.

“SAT and ACT (the two primary standardised tests used for college admissions in the United States) serve as a way of standardising performance,” she said.“If you are looking at top 20, 1500 plus is where you need to be, and 1550 is common in the international pool.”

Still, high scores alone won't secure admission.

“I had a 1600 in my SAT and I have a four-row GPA, and getting into Harvard - it does not work like that,” she said.“Tier one is rigor. Tier two is grades testing, followed by subject mastery. If tier one fails, nothing else is going to compensate.”

In practical terms, that means UAE students must maximise academic difficulty within their curriculum - whether IB, A Levels or AP (advanced high school curricula).

For IB students targeting competitive STEM programmes in the UK, she offered a warning.

“Please avoid Math AI HL (IB),” she said.“If UK is your destination of choice... Cambridge may make more sense for you.”

Similarly, subject combinations can permanently close doors.

“Wrong subject pairing will close the door permanently,” she said, citing examples of students applying for psychology in Canada without mandatory maths.

Students applying to universities in the United States are often judged not just on grades, but on how they are ranked within their own school community as well. Admissions officers closely examine a student's relative standing -making internal school evaluations a critical part of the process.

“If you're applying to universities in the United States, your relationship with your school counsellor truly matters. Whether or not you also work with an independent counsellor, it is your school counsellor who completes the evaluation on the Common App - rating you in comparison to your peers: top 1 per cent, top 5 per cent, top 10 per cent and so on, across academics, extracurricular involvement and character.”

She added,“So will your school counselor be putting 1 per cent or 5 per cent? If you are not there in the top 10 per cent of your class, you're simply not cutting it. That relative evaluation is extremely important, and context matters heavily.”

Families urged to plan early

One of the most striking messages Khan delivered was directed at parents.

“This conversation is geared towards what do top universities require,” she said.“But the question really ought to be, what is the best fit for my child?”

She observed that many families in the UAE fixate on rankings and brand name of some big universities. But prestige or ranking alone does not guarantee the right environment or success.

Strategic balance is critical, particularly in the UK, where students can apply to only five universities through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service).

“Our recommendation is you should be applying to two reach or target, two match and one safety university,” she said.“A key mistake many students make - they only pick the top five.”

If final grades fall short, those offers can vanish, leaving students scrambling through clearing or forced into a gap year.

Planning, she emphasised, must begin early.

“Grade eight to nine parents - very, very important in terms of what kind of curriculum therefore you ought to be choosing,” she said.“By grade 10, you should be thinking about what subjects will I be taking... By grade 11, this is your execution year.”

And above all, she urged families not to follow the crowd.

“Don't follow the herd. The IB is really, really difficult,” she said.“Have mercy on your child if they're not cut out for the IB.”

Ultimately, the Ivy League - and Oxbridge - remain within reach for UAE students. But the bar is unforgiving.

“You should be in the top one to 5 per cent if you're looking at the Ivy League,” Khan added.“For Oxbridge, you're on an A* trajectory... For Imperial in particular, it is looking for STEM precision and exam strength.”